Original Animation Cells for The Transformers G1 for Auction

From fandom archivist and collector Jim Sorenson, we have a piece of news that may appeal to the more hardcore memorabilia collectors out there: an auction for small series of G1 Transformers animation cells, with all information listed below. Any bids should go via Sorenson directly, who can be contacted here, but take a browse of the images below!

One of my Transformers contacts has asked me to help sell a few G1 Transformers cells, so I figured I'd do this low-key. At present they have five for sale: Optimus Prime, Decepticons at Sherman Dam, Slag, Ratchet, and Ravage. The seller requests anonymity, so I'm acting as (unpaid) intermediary.

How this works is simple. If you're interested in any of these cells, just PM me your offer. (Note that, unless you live in driving distance from Hollywood, you're going to have to add 3% for paypal and another few bucks for insured shipping on top of your best offer, so price that into consideration.) After a week I'll pass on the best offers to the seller. That might include conceivably include multiple offers on the same piece, if one person for example makes an offer on three of the five cells. If the seller agrees, you'll paypal the money to me and I'll ship you the cell.

They're all nice pieces, with backgrounds. I can authenticate that they're original Sunbow pieces from back in the day. Good luck to anyone whose interested!

EDIT -- because people are asking, there are currently bids in the low hundred dollar range for each piece. Because it's not an auction I don't want to get too much more specific than that.

Re: Original Animation Cells for The Transformers G1 for Auction (1924396)
Posted by Va'al on December 1st, 2017 @ 12:34am CST

We were contacted directly by Transformers collector, archivist, and vault of knowledge Jim Sorenson, with another auction that may interest fans out there who seek for Transformers: The Movie memorabilia and artistic collectibles - such as the original animation cells or scripts previously newsed on this site - and this time, we have something fairly juicy for the right household: a Reduction Master edition of the storyboards for the animated feature!

The full information about the item (which has been confirmed as legitimate) can be read below, and the auction can be found here. If this is something that might interest you, happy bidding!

[quote]Transformers The Movie 1986 ORIGINAL STORYBOARDS Full set 1000 pages

This is an original set of storyboards for the 1986 Transformers Animated Movie. These were obtained from the Sunbow studio back in the late 1980’s and kept in a dry, smoke-free environment far from harmful UV. This is the “Reduction Master Storyboard”, meaning it is one of the earliest generations of storyboards made during the production the film. (Storyboards are generally illustrated quite large; to make them more portable, and thus more convenient to be referenced, they are REDUCED in size to fit four illustrations to a page. Hence, “Reduction Master”)

The storyboard script features deleted scenes and incredible production artwork. It also offers a fascinating glimpse at what’s NOT in the movie, as some scenes were boarded and then cut BEFORE the creation of the Reduction Masters, or updated by the artist to reflect changes in the flow of the film. The legacy of these changes are represented by a blank square labeled “Out”.

The storyboards are approximately 500 pages long, each page double sided. The storyboards were created to plan out the design of every shot in the film. (It does not include ALL the known deleted scenes as some had already been cut by this point) The set does have some minor wear & wear to the edges, it is over 30 years old! A rare opportunity to get an amazing Transformers holy grail item. The boards have been authenticated by noted Transformers expert Jim Sorenson.

Please note this is very heavy, shipping will registered mail, fully insured, due to the rarity and weight. Due to ongoing problems I will NOT ship to anywhere in Asia other than Japan or anywhere in South America or the Middle East.[/quote]

Re: Original Animation Cells for The Transformers G1 for Auction (1924470)
Posted by Rated X on December 1st, 2017 @ 1:45pm CST

$5000 and no bidders. This is something I would love to flip through once or twice, but cant say I would buy it to do so. This stuff really needs to be published for all to see instead of sold to some rich guy who locks it away for another 30 years. I think 2 hard cover volumes somewhere around $75 for the set would net this guy way more $$$ in the long run if he invested.

Re: Original Animation Cells for The Transformers G1 for Auction (1924749)
Posted by Qwan on December 3rd, 2017 @ 7:00am CST

Many of you may remember the original storyboards for 1986's Transformers: The Movie that went up for auction on eBay a couple days ago (the listing is still ongoing by the way, if you're still interested in checking them out)! Well now, from the same eBay seller, we have an auction of the original storyboards for 1985's Generation 1 cartoon episode City of Steel.

Aficionados of the old cartoon may recognise City of Steel as "that episode where Optimus Prime got disassembled and turned into a robot alligator", and the storyboards up for sale do indeed cover that scene, as well as other memorable moments (like Sideswipe wrestling Starscream's jet mode in midair) and other deleted or revised scenes that didn't make it into the final episode.

Check out some images from the eBay listing (and the item description) below, view the listing here, and place a bid if you're interested and have some money to burn! As always, if you have any thoughts feel free to let us know in the Energon Pub forums, and stay tuned to Seibertron.com for more Transformers news as it comes.

[quote]Transformers City of Steel Original Production Storyboards 1985

This is an original set of storyboards for the October 17th 1985 Transformers episode City of Steel, by Douglas Booth. These were obtained from the Sunbow studio back in the late 1980’s and kept in a dry, smoke-free environment far from harmful UV. These boards are hand-labeled Nelson, making this most likely Transformers producer (and AKOM studio owner) Nelson Shin’s personal copy. The storyboard features deleted and revised scenes, giving a rare glimpse into the production process of a three-decade-old cartoon episode. The boards have been authenticated by noted Transformers expert Jim Sorenson.

Transformers storyboards are incredibly hard to come by. They seem to turn up only every few years, and often sell for thousands of dollars. Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity! If you need any more information just ask. Lots more pictures below, take a look!

Please note this is very heavy, shipping will registered mail, fully insured, due to the rarity and weight. Due to ongoing problems I will NOT ship to anywhere in Asia other than Japan or anywhere in South America or the Middle East.[/quote]

Re: Original Animation Cells for The Transformers G1 for Auction (1924754)
Posted by fenrir72 on December 3rd, 2017 @ 8:44am CST

0 bids and no one's watching. Then again there's still 3 days.

Re: Original Animation Cells for The Transformers G1 for Auction (1924919)
Posted by WreckerJack on December 4th, 2017 @ 4:09am CST

I must say the look on Wheeljack's face is hilarious. Its the face you make when you can't un-see.

Re: Original Animation Cells for The Transformers G1 for Auction (1924949)
Posted by Cobotron on December 4th, 2017 @ 10:00am CST

Man these are so cool to see. I may not be a fan of the actual cartoon, but I am a fan of the process.
So intense that these old Sunbow (former Marvel) guys just went to town on their boards with sharpies and rapidograph pens. Now that is just solid confidence in one's own skill. Those old guys are probably just like, "eh, it's a day job."

It's cool how comic book their layouts and compositions are. Neat to see how that got translated to the screen.

Re: Original Animation Cells for The Transformers G1 for Auction (1925026)
Posted by Qwan on December 4th, 2017 @ 4:50pm CST

WreckerJack wrote:I must say the look on Wheeljack's face is hilarious. Its the face you make when you can't un-see.

Fully agreed, I can't get enough of that Wheeljack face. In fact...

Ah what the heck, it's the holidays. Temporary new profile picture time!

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